ms Rotterdam Cruise Review

ABOVE: The officers, cruise director, and crew
made a farewell appearance on the last full day of our cruise.

Crew

The
ms Rotterdam has a crew of 600 to serve 1,404 passengers, which
translates into a passenger-crew ratio of 2.34. This is somewhere between the
PCRs of the small-ship luxury lines and the mass-market megaships, and it's what
you'd expect of a premium cruise line.

Like
other Holland America Line ships, Rotterdam is staffed mostly by Dutch
and British officers with Indonesian and Filipino sailors and hotel crew.

Holland
America Line's crew standards are high, and the company leaves little to
chance: For example, officers keep their navigation, ship-handling, and
technology skills up to date by training with a state-of-the-art ship's bridge
simulator. Hotel staff reportedly undergo training in their
home countries before being assigned to ships.

Now
and then, ms Rotterdam's officers and crew go beyond the call of duty.
In July, 2009, Captain Rik Krombeen (on left in inset photo) helped a
would-be bridegroom named Cees Korporaal propose from shore to a female
passenger, Michelle Aulman, who was on board as the ship
departed on a cruise from Rotterdam. You can read an
English
translation of a local newspaper story about the event.

Service

We were favorably
impressed by the Rotterdam crew's service and attention to detail: For
example, on our cruise--where 95 percent of the passengers were Dutch--we were
often greeted in Dutch as we walked down the corridors, and the hotel staff went
out of their way to order a fresh supply of Grolsch (a beer from the
Netherlands) when Dutch passengers emptied that brand of beer from the bars as we steamed toward
Scandinavia.

The
La Fontaine Dining Room staff couldn't have been better: We sat at the same
table each night, and both our waiter and the sommelier were friendly,
accommodating, and thoroughly professional.

Service
in the Pinnacle Grill was just as good, and the staff in the Lido Restaurant
worked hard at keeping plates filled and guests happy in the buffet lines at
breakfast and lunch. The staff by the Lido Pool also were quick to clean tables
and replace cutlery and napkins for patrons of the Terrace Grill.

Housekeeping service was mostly fine, and our cabin steward (a
different crewman than the steward in the inset photo on this page) was always
quick to make up the stateroom when we were out. There were a few hiccups, such
as a delayed suitcase delivery on the first day and an erratic pattern of towel
changes in the bathroom, but the glitches were minor and didn't detract from our
enjoyment of the cruise.

Tipping

Tips
are an important source of income for housekeeping and foodservice employees on
most cruise ships. To simplify matters for passengers, Holland America Line
automatically bills a "hotel service charge" to
your account, with the proceeds being divided among cabin stewards, dining-room
staff, and behind-the-scenes workers in places like the kitchen and laundry.

You can adjust the automatic hotel service charge up or down by
visiting the reception desk at the end of the cruise. If you wish, you can slip
something extra to individual stewards, waiters, etc. who have done an
outstanding job. (Individual tips should be paid in cash, preferably in dollars
or euros.)

Note: A 15-percent service charge is added to bar
tabs, and many people tip room-service waiters in cash.